Books Read 2021
The Winter of Our Discontent John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
Sula Toni Morrison (novella)
The Outsider Albert Camus (novella)
The Wisdom of Crowds Joe Abercrombie
Bourbon Penn 24 Ed. Erik Secker (lit mag/anthology)
Heroes Stephen Fry (mythology/collection)
The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison (novella)
The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Conetmporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern (anthology)
The Limits of Enchantment Graham Joyce
The Toddler Brain: Nurture the Skills Today that Will Shape Your Child’s Tomorrow Laura A. Jana (expository)
The Cockroach Ian McEwan (novella)
Crome Yellow Aldous Huxley (novella)
The Girl With No Hands and other tales Angela Slatter (collection).
Warriors 1 Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner Dozois (anthology)
The Devil You Know K.J. Parker (novella)
Hamnet Maggie O’ Farrell
The Mystery Knight George R.R Martin (novella)
The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle
The Twilight Pariah Jeffrey Ford (novella)
David Balfour Robert Louis Stevenson
Spawn of War and Deathiness Ed. Tom Easton (anthology)
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil George Saunders (novella).
The Falling Woman Pat Murphy
What the Family Needed Steven Amsterdam
The Writing Book Kate Grenville (expository)
Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson
Asimov’s (March/April 2018) Ed. Sheila Williams (mag/journal)
Kassandra and the Wolf Margarita Karapanou (novella)
Bury Me in the Rainbow Bill Johnson (novella in Asimov’s March/April 2018)
Fox 8 George Saunders (chapbook)
Prince Otto: A Romance Robert Louis Stevenson
The Black Arrow Robert Louis Stevenson
Monkey Grip Helen Garner
Four Highlight Reads
Keeping my commentary to four highlight reads (although there were plenty more that I loved). And this time, for a change, they’re all classics, so I’ll be brief.
Although neither compared to East of Eden, Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent and The Grapes of Wrath were the two clear standout novels.
The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Similar to East of Eden, The Winter of Our Discontent has quite a bit of humour. It does, however, differ in terms of scope and magnitude, and is a far smaller story, albeit equally sinister in parts. The protagonist, Ethan Hawley, is intelligent, witty and chatty, and the reader is immediately drawn into his world. Ethan is from old-world money and of a privileged aristocratic status, but now essentially works as a grocery clerk in a store he once owned. Although initially content, this warm family man is tempted to be more, both in terms of wealth and status, and he is also tempted in terms of fidelity. Without giving too much away, Ethan passes some of these ‘temptations’ and succumbs to others. Steinbeck cleverly creates a dichotomy of a likable character who ultimately performs some morally vulgar self-centred acts. Steinbeck does not necessarily privilege Ethan’s actions or thoughts, but asks the reader to evaluate. Rather than the larger events that Steinbeck’s epics East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath explore, this smaller story is as equally meaningful, acting as an excellent critique of the trappings of US style capitalism and class, which in many ways is as relevant today as it was at the time of publication. As always, Steinbeck’s work is brave, but also very human.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
There’s enough commentary out there on this without me adding anything to the oceanic pool. I will say that while brilliant, it lacks the bravado and humour of East of Eden. This grave story of the Oakies’ migration west is important, especially as it such a significant part of the USA’s history. Steinbeck gives the theme justice with a defiant work in both a cultural and political sense.
Sula by Toni Morrison
While not The Song of Solomon, this is still a delightful little magical realist novella. Sula exhibits a beautiful voice throughout, capturing the time and place as only Morrison is able to.
I had to laugh, when Morrison mentions “ the bull-necked Greeks and Italians” and then on the final page it’s the Greeks alone with the same phrase (‘the bull-necked Greeks’). I’m probably one of those ‘bull-necked Greek types’, and growing up, there seemed to be so many relatives and family friends just like that…
The Oustider by Albert Camus (also called The Stranger)
As with The Grapes of Wrath, my thoughts won’t add anything to what has already been discussed by a myriad of others. On the surface, this is a quick and easy read, but the morally grey areas will provide readers with some powerful reflection.
Publications
New story: “Anthropophages Anonymous (AA)” in Bourbon Penn 25
This is a delightful home for a story. Bourbon Penn privileges a variety of styles rather than the sardine can formulaic story. Bourbon Penn contains my favourite type of writing: innovative, slightly unconventional, brave but readable, and it almost always strikes that delightful spot where the ‘lit’ and ‘genre’ boundaries blur.
I found all six stories in BP 25 strong, and most superb.
An early review is already out at SFRevu. I've decided to copy the part that mentions my story (mild spoiler alert) as I've realised with 'Reading Coffee' and other stories that web reviews can vanish into the ephemeral Etheretherlands:
"The first story is "Anthrophages Anonymous (AA) by Anthony Panegyres.
James Davis has become Holy James to intelligent bears and has weaned them away from eating humans. Ted is a bear with a little more intelligence and loves his wife, Liz. But Holy James is far from divine.
A great little story."
I'm not on the Twitter-sphere, but a friend sent me pics of two tweets, one regarding the journal with Jeffrey Ford stating Bourbon Penn is 'One of my all time favourite magazines', which gave me tingles as Jeffrey Ford's The Shadow Year is one of my all time favourite novels.
And Emma Culla, who contributed a poetic, colourful and structurally innovative story to Bourbon Penn 24 ('Red Diamond, Black Diamond, Golden Hexagon') wrote about my own story: 'I loved the AA story in this issue (AA as in bears who've stopped eating people and can speak, some of them very eloquently). What a ride!' There are few things more invigorating than a fellow writer enthusing about your own work.
Although an American publication and easily ordered online through a host of channels, Bourbon Penn 25 is available at Planet Books here in Perth, both in Northbridge and in Mt Lawley. So if you're a Perthite, head on down.
Reprint: “Reading Coffee” an Aurealis Award finalist story originally published in Overland Literary Journal 204, and then reprinted in Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene’s The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2011, found its third home a decade on in a colourful anthology of reprint stories called Spawn of War and Deathiness Ed. Tom Easton.
I wanted to highlight three standout stories: ‘Wallflower’ by Tom Easton, ‘The Sidewalk’ by James Dorr, and ‘Daddy’s Girl’ by Jennifer R. Donohue. Other stories that I found especially entertaining were ‘Power of Attorney’ by Louis Evans, ‘Starship Scion’ by David F. Schultz, ‘The Schrodinger Child’ by Dwayne Minton, ‘The Inn of the Dove’ by Gordon Linzner, and ‘The Last Death’ by Sarah Seddon. But there is something here for everyone, a mixture of light and dark and all the greys in-between.
Concerns and a Happy 2022
We are opening here in Perth. I do feel for families who haven’t seen loved ones (and perhaps some work can be done on that front), but I don’t think that opening up is the solution, so I hope, perhaps vainly, that Premier Mark McGowan changes his mind. Healthy people make for a healthy economy, and, as we have seen, we are leading the nation in terms of employment, economic growth, health, liberties, and lifestyle. Ironically, 'opening up'will most likely mean closing more often; it will also place unnecessary pressure on hospitals and businesses. I would like to think that we've learned from the train wreck over East. NSW have just banned dancing at bars and clubs, hospitals are under immense pressure, more elective surgeries are on hold, plus, most tragically, deaths are on the rise. We will have to open up eventually, but with some patience we can see what the 'let rip' or the euphemistically labelled 'push through' policy brings over East. At present it doesn't look great. Who knows what, with a little patience, a couple of months of observation will bring? Albert Bourla is already discussing an omicron-specific vaccine for potential release in March. By waiting, we could also make a decision based on how the Australian COVID-19 modelling (although already flawed) works in practice –– especially regarding the alleged peaking.
At the moment, here in Perth, we have one of the best lifestyles in the world. But our wily Premier may yet have a few more cards to play in keeping the population safe.
Vaccines and Global Inequality
The data out there is evident that vaccinations significantly help reduce symptoms. I am not claiming that vaccinations will solve the COVID -19 crisis, but they are currently an integral step in protecting lives where COVID-19 is prevalent. Having said that, the arena seems to be forever changing, and so too will vaccines and anti-viral treatments. But the tragedy is that some nations have incredibly low vaccination rates. I heard a programme on Radio National highlighting horrific issues in Papua New Guinea.Cultural and economic reasons mean that they, and many other countries, especially with low GDPs, have extremely low rates of vaccination (and they are often 'gifted' vaccines that have a lower efficacy rate). It may be idealistic, but I'd love it if we globally united to deliver to nations like Papua New Guinea.
Happy 2022
On the brighter side, I hope you read a few books, take care of your loved ones and friends, along with our precious environment. It’s wishful thinking, but in a political sense wouldn't it be great if the era of the demagogue was over? The polarisation fuelled by fringe extremists on both sides is ugly.
As always, I wish all a healthy, happy, but also meaningful, year.
